Angelica

Sun

Full sun in cool climates; partial shade where summers are hot.

Water

Keep the root zone consistently moist, especially during establishment and hot weather; do not leave it waterlogged.

Soil

Deep, fertile, moisture-retentive soil with good drainage; tolerates mildly acidic to mildly alkaline conditions.

Height

3-8 ft (0.9-2.4 m)

Spread

2-4 ft (0.6-1.2 m)

Flowers

Early to midsummer; rounded clusters of small greenish-white to yellow-green flowers.

Foliage

Large, bright green, divided leaves with toothed leaflets and broad, inflated sheaths around the leaf stalks; aromatic when crushed.

Growth

Fast; usually forms a leafy rosette in its first year and flowers in its second or third.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Cold hardy
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Fragrant
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   3 ft (0.99 m)

3. After 2 years

   5 ft (1.7 m)

   full size

About 2 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Native to

the UK

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Water deeply during dry spells so the soil does not dry out around the roots.
• Work well-rotted compost into the planting area and top-dress each spring.
• Mulch around plants to retain moisture, keeping mulch clear of the crown.
• Stake flowering stems early if the site is windy.
• Leave room for its broad leaves and sow replacement plants regularly.

Pruning. Cut flowering stems at the base before seeds ripen if you want to limit self-seeding; early flower removal may also prolong the plant's life. Remove dead leaves and spent stems once they have died back, wearing gloves to avoid sap contact.

Pick young leaves in spring while tender, and cut young green leaf stalks in late spring or early summer before they become tough; these are the stalks traditionally candied. For seed, cut flower heads when the seeds turn tan and finish drying them in a paper bag. Harvest only positively identified cultivated plants, never an uncertain wild lookalike.

Early spring

Top-dress established plants with compost and renew the moisture-retaining mulch.

Spring

Plant young plants while small, taking care not to disturb the developing taproot.

Late spring

Harvest tender leaves and leaf stalks; put stakes beside exposed plants.

Summer

Water during dry weather and leave some flowers for pollinating insects.

Late summer

Collect ripening seed and sow it promptly, or remove seed heads to control spread.

Autumn

Remove dead stems and thin unwanted seedlings, retaining a few replacements.

• Place at the back of a moist border for height and a bold leafy outline.
• Use as a tall focal point in a herb garden or potager.
• Combine with ferns and astilbes in a lightly shaded, moisture-retentive border.
• Plant among looser cottage-garden flowers so its rounded flower heads provide contrast.

Garden styles it suits: Cottage garden, Potager (kitchen garden), Herb parterre, Wildlife garden, Edible landscape and English country.

Plant it with: Astilbe, Meadowsweet, Siberian iris, Lady fern, Masterwort and Globe flower.

Wildlife: The open flowers provide accessible nectar and pollen for bees, hoverflies, other flies and beetles.

• Slugs and snails damage young growth: protect emerging plants with barriers or wildlife-conscious slug controls.
• Aphids gather on soft shoots: wash them off with water and encourage ladybirds and other predators.
• Powdery mildew can mark crowded or drought-stressed foliage: improve spacing, water the soil and remove badly affected leaves.
• Hot, dry conditions cause wilting and poor growth: provide afternoon shade, mulch and consistent watering.

Young leaves and leaf stalks are used as food, but the plant contains furanocoumarins: sap on skin followed by sunlight can cause painful inflammation or blistering in people. Wear gloves when cutting it. These compounds can also cause photosensitisation in animals; keep cats, dogs and horses from eating it, and do not give them concentrated oils or extracts.

• Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)

  Poison hemlock has finely divided, fernlike leaves, flatter white flower heads and smooth stems often marked with purple blotches.

• Wild angelica (Angelica sylvestris)

  Wild angelica usually has flatter heads of white or pinkish flowers rather than the rounded greenish heads of garden angelica. Both have broad divided leaves, so seedlings can be difficult to distinguish.

• Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)

  Giant hogweed has enormous, sharply cut leaves, broad flat white flower heads and coarse, bristly stems with purple markings. Its sap can cause severe burns in sunlight; do not handle a suspected plant to identify it.

Angelica comes from the Latin for angelic, while archangelica refers to an archangel, reflecting old traditions linking the herb with angelic protection and healing.

Propagation. Sow freshly ripened seed promptly, preferably in individual deep pots or where plants are to grow. Seed quickly loses viability and may need a period of moist cold before germinating; leave outdoor pots through winter. Transplant seedlings while small because established taproots dislike disturbance.

Accepted botanical name

Angelica archangelica

In the US and Canada

Native in Greenland.

Native range

Albania, Baltic States, Belarus, Central European Rus, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Føroyar, Germany, Great Britain and Greenland.

Measured

Soil pH 7 to 7.5. Average height 53 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.